Agra Discom fails at many fronts

Power Corp MD upset with DVVNL's performance

• Poor revenue collection
• Bad performance in OTS
• Decreased combing
• Less number of franchisees

Richeek Mishra

Agra. Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) Managing Director Awanish Kumar Awasthi feeling upset with the performance of Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (DVVNL) in a meeting held recently has instructed DVVNL officials to perform well or face the consequences. The revenue collection in Agra region was 3.15 percent less than previous year's revenue. Irked over lesser collection, Awasthi instructed DVVNL officials to increase the revenue. Not only this, DVVNL Managing Director Kripal Singh had also assured Awasthi to collect Rs. 157 crore from One-Time-Settlement scheme (OTS).

According to the sources, till now the department was unable to reach near the target, and the scheme is to be closed on January 31. Official figures say that around 1900 cases were registered under OTS in the entire state and only about 10 crore rupees could be collected. Awanish Awasthi instructed all the power officials to improve their performance in this scheme. He also found that the officials were not working properly during combing in their particular areas to check the power theft. In the entire state, around 54,000 connections were checked during the combing out of which only 2060 connections were disconnected.

Not only this, the power corporation officials have registered only 1512 FIRs against defaulters and the total collection was only Rs. 15 crore. These figures show that officials are uninterested in combing operations. Moreover, the progress percentage of DVVNL in Aerial Bunch Conductor (ABC) extension work is only 26.40. With this percentage, the DVVNL cannot achieve the given the target, commented Awasthi. DVVNL is also not working properly on franchise distribution as it targeted to set up 125 collection based franchisees but there are only 57 franchisees.

Similarly, the tenders for 25 Input Based Franchisees were issued around two month back, but till now not even a single franchise has been selected. Revenue collection efficiency percentage is only 69.9 percent, which is far less than other subsidiaries of UPPCL. Considering the low performance of various subsidiaries, Awanish Awasthi warned power corporation officials to achieve the target or department will take stringent action against concerned officials.

MD further said that from few divisions we are getting fake reports of Revenue Loss Reduction Report (SDO wise work performance), which will not be tolerated. He instructed Chief Engineers and Superintendent Engineers to keep an eye on such reports. He further instructed to carry out proper billing in rural as well as in urban areas.

Power Officials Dismayed

Collection of pending bills affected due to hostile residents

Awareness among consumers is important: Randhir Singh

Richeek Mishra

Agra. "Agar connection kata to transformer jala denge…(If power supply is disconnected Transformer will be set ablazed) ", "are chinta mat karo neta ji se kah kar connection katne se rukva denge…(don't worry, Neta Ji will be approached to recommend for avoiding disconnection)", these have become the most common situations, power corporation's officials come across, much to their consternation.

Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (DVVNL) employees fail to collect long pending bills from densely populated areas of the city. The narrow lanes, angry consumers, mangled wires and lack of space for electrification hold these employees back to complete their responsibility. When power officials visit any rural or urban locality for collection of pending bills and try to disconnect the connections of defaulters, residents of that particular locality become angry and sometimes turn violent and exasperated corporation employees return from that area empty handed.

The most densely populated areas of the city from which the consumers are regularly evading pending bills are Kaji Pada, Dholikhar, Dhakran, Mantola, Panja Madrasa, Buddh Vihar, Nai Abadi, Machhli Bazaar and many others. Similarly, residents from many rural areas are also not depositing their pending bills. According to Executive Engineer division Ist GM Sharma, the residents always threaten us and turn violent if we take any stringent action.

The official records show that in the month of December-2007, department officials failed to recover pending bills from around 79,975 consumers from the entire Agra region. Only from rural Agra, 6638 pending bills could not be recovered. Not only this from the urban region around 38,205 pending bills are not recovered. The total number of un-recovered pending bills from Agra is 44,843, which is around 56 percent of the entire zone. Talking to DLAam, General Manager Randhir Singh said there is need of awareness among consumers to deposit their bills regularly. Local political leaders should also initiate regarding this issue.

Remember Ambedkar villages, forget others

• Other villages are facing acute power crisis
• Power Corporation using many tactics to collect revenue but fails on all fronts

Richeek Mishra

Agra. The team of secretaries might be satisfied with the development work carried out in the reviewed Ambedkar villages but the situation of power supply in rural areas and the collection of revenue is far from hunky dory. Principal Secretary JN Chamber and his team of bureaucrats are probably not aware of the skeletons in the wardrobe of Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (DVVNL).

Considering the state government's special attention towards Ambedkar villages DVVNL officials may have worked properly but other villages and towns are not getting proper power supply. In a bid to save the crop of potato, DVVNL, few weeks back, took a shocking step disconnecting the power supply of around 100 villages to supply power to about 8000 tubewells.

In many villages transformers are not functioning, streetlights are defunct, while secretaries' team is satisfied with the development work carried out by Power Corporation. The rural consumers are facing acute problem of regular power cuts. Around 48068 rural power consumers are getting supply from the corporation while DVVNL is unable to collect pending electricity bills from them. About 6638 consumers of domestic, commercial and high voltage connections are evading deposition of electricity bills every month.

According to the DVVNL officials, they are regularly organising camps to collect pending dues but they fail. Power Corporation's One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme also fails to evoke good response. DVVNL Managing Director has assured to collect Rs 157 crore from this scheme within two months. Corporation's chief engineer and managing director have also assured to collect Rs 20 crore under OTS. However, up to January 25, Agra Discom was able to collect approximately Rs 2 crore.

Wait for a shocking electricity bill

Richeek Mishra
Agra. It seems that the power department is infallibly in the habit of serving bills in lakhs once you have applied for a connection, no matter whether you decide to continue it or not, your electricity bill will definitely be ever soaring.
After many complaints DLA am chose to meddle into one such matter and test the waters.
Nanak Ram, a resident of 3/415 Rui Ki Mandi wanted to discontinue his power connection. Power department officials disconnected it on April 21, 2006 according to the office memorandum (or PDC which is issued after a disconnection) issued to him. The original connection number was 171/072500 but the official memorandum showed it to be 171/052500.
When son of Nanak Ram, Moti Lal almost two years later applied for a new connection, his all paper procedures came to standstill, when he was informed about pending bill of Rs 1,20,219. He tried to convince DVVNL officials but they insisted to clear the pending bill first.
DLA am contacted SDO Shankar Lal Agnihotri, Jaipur House Sub-Division, but he refused to take any action even after presenting the office memorandum.
When asked to comment on the issue PK Sagar at executive engineer office said that the mistake was committed unintentionally, and termed it as a simple clerical mistake. He immediately instructed his subordinate Renu Saxena to look into the matter. Talking to DLA am, Renu Saxena said there may be the possibility of double-billing and the matter would be inquired into by SDO Agnihotri.
SDO at Jaipur House Sub-division out of office therefore Sagar was asked to instruct any other official. Sagar in turn asked to meet billing clerk in the office, who was also missing from his office.
Thus all the pleas and the exercise ended with assurations only which revealed that clerical mistakes are the most common things in the Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (DVVNL) and the consumers should pull up their socks and be prepared for a shocking bill.

Mistakes add to woes of consumers
A simple clerical mistake committed by a clerk could prove nightmarish for the consumers. The office memorandum passes through Junior Engineer, Sub-Division Officer and Executive Engineer, but no body detected the mistake. They just forwarded the papers by signing it casually.
Due to change in officials papers, computer operator also entered wrong data in the computer. When the consumer went for new connection officials showed him the pending amount of Rs. 1.20 lakh. The mistake carried out by the DVVNL officials' puts a big question mark on the credentials of the employees of the department.

Change in date creates problem
With clerical mistakes sleepless nights to consumers another case came to light in which the disconnection team members wrote some wrong facts and figures and upset the consumer.
The incident is of Kedar Nagar sub-division. DVVNL officials disconnected power supply to Lalsa Ram, a resident of A-23, Kedar Nagar. His connection number was 181/095060. Disconnection team members wrote two different dates on a single receipt. The receipt has two dates 06/2/06 and 06/2/07. According to the consumer, he is worried about the matter, as DVVNL officials are regularly disturbing the consumers.

Five MDs within six months!

• UPSRTC plans adversely affected

Richeek Mishra

Agra. Change in government usually brings rays of hope for the development of the state and its infrastructure. In Uttar Pradesh dozens of officers have been transferred after the oath taking ceremony of Chief Minister Mayawati. Amongst her famous achievements are good number of transfers within six months. Bureaucrats are always on their toes and ready with their bag and baggage. But it has adversely affected the working of Transport department in Agra.

Interestingly, Uttar Pradesh State Roadways Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has faced the transfer of five managing directors during the last six months. Consequently the department have been busy rather in 'hand over' and 'take over' business by outgoing and incoming officers respectively. "Administrative uncertainty has certainly affected the development of the department in Agra and also in the state," commented a senior UPSRTC official.

Mayawati is working in her typical style of functioning. However her admirers say that transfers and reshuffle are routine procedures, saying whatever is done is in the interest of the public. "If there is a complaint against an officer, you have to replace him with a competent person," administrative sources said. Whatever is the stand of the government in this regard, public in general feel, frequent transfers do not give opportunity to an officer to perform. "Why don't you pick a competent officer to deliver good rather than experimenting with too many," said a passenger Ramthirth Singh Rathore at Idgaah Station. You have to give time to perform he explained.

During his visit the then Managing Director of UPSRTC Sanjay Bhoosreddy, said we will change the face of bus stands in the city of Taj. Moreover, he had also assured to start two new satellite bus stands viz. Water Works and Normal Ground. But all the promises and assurance were forgotten. During the last two months, after Sanjay three MD's came to take over the charge viz. Sanjay Bhoosreddy, BS Bobade, Shambhu Sharan and now Kisan Singh Aoriya. Let's see who will be the next?Three more MD's came but none of them paid any attention towards the development of the city, while this is the most famous tourists place in the state. State government has approved Rs. 55 crore project to develop the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT).

Moreover, State Transport Authority (STA) also planned to construct a flyover at ISBT to connect it from highway and neighbouring colonies. STA is also willing to start two satellite bus stands. When the firebrand BSP supremo Mayawati came to power six months ago, she had emphasised categorically on more revenue generation. Due to frequent changes at higher level posts, the development work in the UPSRTC has been affected badly. Local administration is also not working properly. While UPSRTC has requested ADA and NN to construct link road and remove encroachment from the ISBT. But local administration is in slumber.

Doodh...doodh na piyo glassfull!

• Milk adulteration in city on rise
• Farmers & cooperative-societies involved in adulteration
• Adulteration carried out in late night hours
• Locals aware of adulterated milk

Richeek Mishra

Agra. India, it is said was flooded with milk during Lord Krishna's time. The situation could have perhaps improved with White Revolution. But alas! such things do not happen anymore. The proverbial river of milk does flow but its adulterated just like the river Yamuna in Agra. Now, the milkmen are supplying adulterated milk in the city. All are quite aware of the fact that the milk supplied to the local restaurants, houses and small tea shops is impure. Not only this, milkmen from rural areas are hand in gloves with farmers and cooperative-societies.

After hearing about the adulterated milk supply in the city, DLA am reporter tracked down the places from where the milk is sourced.Milk, delivered at homes, may not be that pure as told by the doctors and grandma to drink regularly. The vehicles in which the milk is transported is assembled locally at major market of transporters in the city. Jugaad is a common mode of transport used in Agra region. This local talent has infact further facilitated the adulteration of milk while it is being transported.

A milkman Ramdeen (name changed) resident of Umethra village from Baah told us that, "sahab main to sahi doodh lata hun, par ye sahkari sanstha walen hamara paisa kha jate hain, aur hame phir usme thoda bahut to dekhna hi padta hain" (I bring the pure milk, but I am cheated by cooperative societies which do not my full payment. that is why to compensate that I am compelled to..). He further told that many other milkmen also adulterate the milk with dirty water and sometimes they even use chemicals to make the milk more thick. At several villages around Agra, Fatehabad, Baah, Sikandra and Fatehpur Sikri, milk is being openly adulterated. DLA am tried to discuss with some milkmen. They told that the material is available in all the small towns.

Talking to DLA am, a small tea vender at Delhi Gate said that these milkmen are involved in adulteration of milk. First of all they add water and then to make the milk thick they use some chemicals. He further said that milk is adulterated at all the places and people know how to do it. "The harmful chemicals and material adulterated in milk cannot be detected by lactomter also," said Municipal Health Officer Dr. JP Gupta. He further said that harmful substances like caustic soda, refined oil, cutting oil, fat extracted from flesh, urea and glucose are a part of the endless list that are used to adulterate milk. The process begins in the late night hours and is over by the time the milk vans arrive in the morning.

Here's the procedure

In the begning, some fresh and pure milk is mixed with liquid that is used to wash fabrics. Followed by a dose of cutting oil. The mixture is then put aside for half-an-hour after which water is added according to the requirement. Soon, the synthetic milk is ready. Each village in the Agra and nearby regions produces around 300 litres of such milk daily, which is transported through vans. This milk is not transported in the regular aluminium cans but instead it is brought in plastic drums to the nearby chilling plants. There are dozens of such chilling units in Agra. This spurious milk is then sourced by various dairies and distributed in city and towns. It's a nexus where everyone except the consumer is benefited. The people involved in this process know that the dairy officials are aware of the adulteration. They get a profit of Rs 3-5 per litre. The cost of pure milk in the city varies between Rs. 14 to 25. For many, milk is healthy, nutritious and an energetic food but not anymore.

Scorpions at Taj!

Richeek Mishra

Agra. A five year old kid was admitted in a serious condition to a hospital after he received deadly pangs by a scorpion at one of the most beautiful monuments of the world. The condition of the kid worsened while being rushed to a hospital a few kilometers away, as there is no medical facility near this historical monument. Thank God! This is not a real story but it can be very much possible at Tajmahal.

DLA am, reporter while visiting Tajmahal noticed a small light brown scorpion roaming on the floor near the minaret. While he was clicking its photographs a person killed the Scorpion to avoid any mishap. The scorpion was roaming freely on the marble platform. Due to the chilled weather and fog it was trying to hide itself in a crevice of the marble floor. It should be noted that Indian and foreign tourists have to put off their footwears and they walk here on the floor bare-foot. It can be dangerous to tourists, as there is no hospital in the vicinity.

There are CCTVs, commandoes, ASI employees for the security of the tourist but what about these crawlers. The monument is situated near river Yamuna and forest areas due to which these small creepers and centipedes are roaming there freely and possibilities of poisonous snakes also could not be denied.

DVVNL shocks villages

• 1.63 cr pending in 20 villages, supply cut-off

Richeek Mishra

Agra. Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (DVVNL) is on its toes to collect the pending bills from the rural areas of the Agra district. Power Corporation has disconnected the supply of more than 20 villages in the district and nearby areas. Bills worth Rs. 1.63 crore are pending in these villages.

Villagers refused to deposit the bills. Not only this, residents of these villages are always ready to thrash employees of Power Corporation. It is a known fact that villages consume more power than urban areas. Power employees said that villagers always refused to deposit the bills. Residents of cities try to save their social image and deposit their pending bills while their counterparts in villages want power free of cost. Following the instructions from the headquarters, DVVNL has disconnected the power supply of these defaulter villages, said Superintending Engineer OP Jain.

Government has instructed corporation to provide electricity as per the payment, he told. Tubewells and other agricultural equipments consume more power and corporation has already lost millions of money following the government policies of concessions, he added. Now, distribution department is not entertaining any excuse from the villagers. Those who have deposited their pending bills they are getting the regular supply as per the norms of the corporation.

Moreover, we have started a drive to disconnect the power supply of all the defaulter villages, he added. The disconnection drive was also started in the city and power department has stopped the supply of around eight to ten thousand connections of various categories during the last one month, he added.

Defaulter villages

Undera, Olenda, Dulara, Banjara Basti, Devnari, Chhiproda, Devratha, Nagla Pramasut, Nagla Kerai, Karara, Garhi Vichitra, Nagla Vichitra, Nagla Sikarwar, Garh Sahni, Sugnapur, Satyampuram, Mangoli Kala, Mangoli Khurd, Gujjar Pura, Suteri, Nagla Ajitha, Gitroa, Baroli Aheer, Lateempur, Nagla Bhagat, Khediya and Nagla Laxman.

Villagers want power @ lantern

Richeek Mishra

Agra. "India lives in Villages..." yes that's true. When it comes to assessing the various facilities and amenities, they not only misuse it but evade the payment. This is what gets reflected in Kiravali tehsil. Here the villagers are not paying their electricity bills even after being repeatedly told by the power corporation. They want it as cheap as to lit a lantern. Infact, they would prefer electricity free of cost. Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) has disconnected the power supply of seven villages of Kiravali tehsil.

Residents of four villages annoyed with the step taken by the UPPCL jammed the traffic on Jaipur Road for four hours on October 24. Considering the seriousness of the matter and also the SAARC delegation visit, SDM Garima Yadav assured them for power supply. She further asked power officials to provide electricity supply to these four villages upto October 28. She further said that administration would like to avoid any type of unwanted situation during the visit of SAARC delegation. On the complaint of power corporation officials about the pending bills, Yadav suggested them to organise camps in villages to collect them.

UPPCL officials have organised camps in these seven villages to collect the pending bills, however the villagers did not show their interest to submit the bill. SDM Garima Yadav instructed UPPCL officials to disconnect the power supply to all these villages after October 28, if they do not submit the bills. According the UPPCL, these villages have to deposit around Rs. 65 lakh. Corporation has warned them for regular power cut if they do not deposit the amount within the given deadline.

The four villages in which the power supply has been provided till October 28 are Garara, Garibi Chitra, Sugnapur and Nagla Sikarwar. Residents of these villages jammed the traffic on the Jaipur Road. The other three villages are Satyampura, Nagla Ajitha and Suteri. UPPCL has disconnected the power supply of these three villages for indefinite period.

Village Pending amount

Garara -24 lakh, Satyampura-19 lakh, Nagla Sikarwar-12 lakh, Suteri-07 lakh, Sugnapur-06 lakh, Nagla Ajitha-04 lakh, Garibi Chitra-03 lakh

Strike worries UPPCL Chairman

UPPCL Chairman GB Pattanaik discussed about the state-level strike of engineers with his officials at every zonal office through hotline. Few more temporary control rooms will be open to provide regular and uninterrupted power supply and to resolve customers' grievances. Pattanaik asked his officials about the preparation going on. Further he has instructed to resolve customers' grievances during the strike.

Agra ST in profit

• UPSRTC declares Ist half of financial year's detail
• Though the number of passengers decreases
• A bus covers 371 kms per day
• Pvt. operators reluctant to further contract

Richeek Mishra

Agra. The number of contract buses hired by Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) is decreasing day by day due to the lack of interest shown by the private bus owners, said Assistant Regional Manager (Finance) Atul Shrotriya. Corporation is not affected with the decreasing number of hired buses. The decline will help us to increase state transport buses and its services, he added. UPSRTC is providing efficient, economic, environment friendly, co-ordinated & adequate passenger services with comfort, claimed Atul. UPSRTC has received revenue of Rs. 48.30 crore during the month of April to September this year. Last year in the same period UPSRTC has earned Rs. 43.92 crore. This shows that Agra region of state transport has earned profit of Rs. 4.38 crore.

Corporation has increased eight buses for the Agra region as the number of hired buses decreased during first half of this financial year. Atul informed that the contract period of 3 buses is over, thus now we have to increase our buses. The decision taken by the corporation has evoked good response. According to the sources, state transport buses have covered 297.80 lakh kilometres during first half of this financial year while during the last year these buses had covered only 282.50 lakh km in the same period. However, this is irony that the number of passengers have decreased in this period. Last year around 113.40 lakh passengers took the benefit of corporation buses while this year the number decreases to 111.40 lakh.

Talking to DLA am, ARM Atul Shrotriya said that the number of passengers have decreased due to the recent riots in Agra, Gujjar-Meena agitation in northern part and some other issues. During these incidents passengers preferred train-journey. Meanwhile, these incidents also helped UPSRTC to increase its services in other states when transport services of such states were disturbed due to violence. Agra region has also introduced CNG buses and open Kheragarh route which also indicates good reponse, added Atul.

Fatehpur Sikri Road open for ST buses

Local administration has revoked the ban on the buses plying between Sai Ki Takiya and Subhash Park crossing. This will help Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) buses and other state buses to travel on Fatehpur Sikri Road. The decision taken by the local administration is welcomed by the state transport officials, said Assistant Regional Manager (Finance) Atul Shrotriya. Buses are diverted towards tourist village Barare and Malpura. The journey time increased due to the diversion of the buses.

Water pipeline on computer screen

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  Geographical Information System on cards


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  GIS helps in indicating faults in pipeline


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  Chemically balanced and treated water supply


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  New technology to be installed at Water Works

Recheek Mishra

Agra. Now Agraites can hope for clean and hygeinic water. Local administration is going to introduce a sophisticated and advanced digital system to resolve water related problems in the city. With the help of new system any fault even within the underground pipeline can be traced out on the screen of computer. The enitre city is facing scarcity of potable water. The cause behind this is lack of proper management, irregularity in supply and water pollution.

The problem of pollution has been perturbing the city for the last one decade. Proper drainage, sewage, disposal of solid waste and potable water have become issues of great concern for the local administration. Various NGOs, government agencies and instituions are claiming to cooperate in providing better civic amenities to the locals. Local administration seems apparently committed to resolve the public grievances. Administration is trying to bring potable water in the city under Gangajal Project.

The new technology to be introduced is known as Geographical Information System (GIS). This electronic digital system will help in monitoring any technical or mechanical fault in water pipeline in the entire city. This is more advanced but similar like Train Tracking System used by railway department. Before installing the system in the city, local administration will improve water treatment plant. It is a general complaint of the citizens that polluted, unhygienic and stinking water is supplied throughout the city.

A new technology will be installed at Water Works to balance the percentage and odour of Chlorine in water. Following this, after treatment the water will be sent to Indian Standard Institute (ISI) for the approval. Experts from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) recently visited the city and reviewed the water pipeline system to start the project. The new technology will help in purifying the water of River Yamuna. To study the entire water pipeline system in the city JBIC has carry out Special Assistance For Project Formation (SAPROF) in various areas under Housing Development Board. SAPROF assignments are carried out by consultants and experts hired by JBIC.

What is GIS?

Geographical Information System (GIS) is a systematic integration of computer hardware, software and spatial data, used for capturing, storing, displaying, updating, manipulating and analysing, in order to solve complex management problems.The definition of GIS for a common man: Previously we had paper maps, which were very colourful, which we couldn't modify. Then came the computer revolution, where the maps were digitised and stored in digital format. These were just entities (line, circle, polygon or point) and could not be used for giving any information in geographical terms. Using these digital files we can though modify easily and reproduce it quickly but can not use them for any analysis purpose. Then came the GIS which could make these all things possible at a time.

Shocking Diwali gift for farmers

• Rural Agra burdens loss of Rs. 36.19 cr.

UPPCL will not pay money for installing tubewells. Indisciplined employees will be terminated on spot. Loss of around one billion in state. Department will bring corporate culture

Richeek Mishra

Agra. Rural part of Agra win the race of consuming power than its counterpart urban areas. Tubewells, flourmills and other various agricultural equipments consume more power than any other electronic material utilised in the city. Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) loses crores of rupees every year due to some unfavourable government policies and increased consumption of power in rural areas. Higher officials of UPPCL have decided not to provide financial assistance in installation of tubewells in the rural areas. Till now, power department is paying around Rs. 57000 per tubewell while government provide subsidy of Rs. 43000 on it.

The total cost of installation of single tubewell is one lakh. Department has lost Rs. 36.19 crore last year due to installation of tubewells in rural Agra, informed UPPCL General Manager Randhir Singh. Around 6350 tubewells have been installed in rural part of Agra zone last year. When the department calculated the investment on these tubewells, it was shocking as UPPCL has suffered loss of Rs. 36.19 crore, he added. Despite, providing regular and better power supply to the rural areas, department is suffering big revenue loss, said Singh. Now, department will remove those transformers which are not used in rural areas and install them in the city.

Besides, such transformers will also be removed from rural areas, which are installed but do not get power supply, he added. A meeting of higher-level officials was organised recently in Agra to sort out the problem of revenue loss from rural areas. Not only this, higher officials has taken various major decisions in a meeting held at Lucknow on October 12. In the meeting, state government's representatives said that now government would not compensate funds to UPPCL regarding installation of tubewells. According to the sources, department suffered a loss of around one billion in the entire state to install the tubewells during the last year. Now department has decided that the customers have to bear entire expenses of tubewell installation, informed Singh.

State government has given instruction to the department to cultivate corporate culture. Considering the seriousness of the matter, Managing Director of South Zone Kripal Singh instructed his officials to increase profit by collecting more revenue and eliminate power theft and other illegal activities carried out by customers. UPPCL management has also instructed the staff to perform well or leave the department. Sources confirm that department may terminate the indisciplined employees.

I was 98, 40 years back!

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  Rly. Software denies to recognise 138 year old

"Kisi raees ki mehfil ka jikra kya hai amir, khuda ke ghar bhi na jayenge bin bulawe ke".

Richeek Mishra

Agra. Not only North Central Railway (NCR) but all the zones of railway department have proved that normal man could not live more than 98-99 years. The railway reservation system never accepts age more than 98-99 years. DLA am reporter, strived to get a berth reserved for the 138 year old Habib Miyan (India's oldest living man). On reservation counter, railway official shocked to see the age written in the reservation form. He tried for the many times to enter the correct age but the software always replaced it with the age of 98 or 99. Finally, the booking clerk issued the ticket (PNR no. 260-5355284) from Jaipur to Ajmer on HW-ADI Mail (train no. 9106) for October 12. The software has been developed by the Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) and they are responsible for the pros and cons of software, said Railway PRO Manzar Karar. The higher level officials will be informed about the lacuna in the software, he added. This is really shocking information for the entire department. Now, the question arises as how the railway department corrects this mistake?

Habib Miyan

Habib, the oldest person Habib Miyan, claims to be born in Jaipur in 19th century in the month of May. Regarding the year he is confused to1869, 1878 and 1872. His exact age is unknown. According to his state-issued pension book, Habib Miyan was born on 20 May 1878. If this date is proved correct, Miyan will be the oldest person alive since the death of Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment in 1997. Moreover, Miyan has been recorded as the world's oldest person ever to live in 1993 on the occasion of his 123rd birthday.Guinness and independent researchers have not, however, verified Miyan's age. His extraordinary claim is principally based upon documents issued in 1938 identifying a man named "Rahim Khan", born in 1878. Miyan's assertion that he is, in fact, "Rahim Khan" is greeted by many with suspicion. Miyan has lately claimed being born in 1872 and most recently, 1869. On his alleged 138th birthday (2007) while talking to PTI at his home Miyan said, "Kisi raees ki mehfil ka jikra kya hai amir, khuda ke ghar bhi na jayenge bin bulawe ke" and while asking about his eating habits, he said: "I am open to any kind of food".

Hand billing in villages & town on cards

• UPPCL seeking ways to fight power theft

Richeek Mishra
Agra. Uttar Pradesh Power Coporation Limited (UPPCL) is intensifying its drive against power thefts in city, now power department is planning to move towards rural areas and towns of the district for betterment of power supply and collection of more revenue.
UPPCL is planning to generate more revenue from rural areas as tubewells, floor-mills and other agricultural equipments consume good amount of electricity. Department is also ready to check the power theft in rural areas and towns.
For the last few decades, UPPCL has been unable to collect enough amount of revenue from the rural areas. Consumption of power in rural areas has been increasing year by year and in return revenue collection is quite insufficient. The department is planning to provide facility of hand billing in rural areas also. Regrding this, UPPCL has given responsibilities to four companies viz Sai Company (Meerut), CS Softwares (Hyderabad), Zoom Developers (Indore, MP) and Leftan Softwares (New Delhi).
Officials of these companies will provide immediate bills after reading. Following this, customer has to submit his or her bill to its concerned sub-station. As per the instruction of Managing Director Kripal Singh department has taken this initiative, said General Manager Randhir Singh. MD has further instructed department officials including GMs and DGMs to collect facts and figures about towns and rural areas to start this facility. He has also asked officials to start drive against power theft in the entire district. Now, customer cannot complain that department has not taken the reading, added Randhir.
He further said that, these companies will charge Rs. 2 to Rs. 2.50 per bill, which will be paid by UPPCL. Department is ready to introduce hand billing in towns like Jagner, Fatehpur Sikri, Kheragarh, Etmadpur and others.
Department will also form small probe teams to check power theft in the rural Agra and towns. These teams will take immediate action against those customers who are involved in power theft. Singh further applauded the proper power supply arrangements carried out by the concerned sub-stations and department officials during Janakpuri. The department is ready to provide better power supply during Id-ul-fitr, Dussehra and Diwali, said Singh.

UPPCL request to customers
Customers should also save power. There are hundreds of small and medium sized factories in various areas of the district. The factory owners never think to save power. Department has many compaints about power theft in these areas with the help of hooks. Department will start a drive against power theft very soon. The drive will start without any information to customers. This drive will help power department to find out those customers who are involved in power theft with the help of hooks or any other means, said Randhir Singh.

Is Akbar turning in his grave?

• DLA am found blunder mistakes on plaques at Akbar Tomb

Richeek Mishra

Agra. Built in Indo-Saracenic style the Akbar tomb at Sikandara is listed in World Heritage Sites. Instead of conserving the entire premises of the Akbar tomb Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is waiting for some miracle. The miniature paintings are decaying day-by-day. Under the pretext of restoring the peeling off paintings ASI has plastered the ceilings and walls. ASI should restore these paintings by chemical conservation procedure. No one would avail of seeing these precious paintings, if ASI unable to preserve it. The ceiling of the main entrance for cenotaph has a moss formation, which shows that there is seepage of water from roof. Really it looks ugly for the beautiful main entrance. The plaster is crumbling from the West wall of the tomb just below the roof. Marble carving is also peeling off from the Minar at West side of the tomb. The North gate is in dilapidated condition. Similarly, plaster of East gate ceiling is also crumbling speedily and no restoration work has been carried out. No visitors dare to reach near West and South gates, as honeycombs formation scare them. According to ASI sources, the budget estimate for the renovation and conservation has been passed. Around Rs. 12 lakh is sanctioned by the administration for restoration of the monument. However, this amount is insufficient for the complete renovation. ASI cannot paint the peeling off miniatures in the same style till we do not get instructions from higher levels, said an ASI employee (on anonymity).

Illiterate ASI!

After publishing the errors on plaques at Taj Mahal, DLA am has found blunder mistakes on plaques at Akbar tomb. First of all,visitors find out the information from the commemorative inscription on the marble plaques, which has been written in Hindi and English languages. This is the irony that ASI employees don't know their mother language. Around 9 years ago the plaques were installed and since then visitors are reading grammatically incorrect information in Hindi. The name of the Mughal emperor Babar is inscribed as 'Bavar'. Not only this, 'teen majilon me khammo par agharit' has been inscribed incorrectly. Its correct version is 'Teen manjilon me khambho par adharit. Instead of writing 'Kamniyata, anand aur chamak-damak' ASI has inscribed 'Kamniyata anand aur chamak-danmak'. Children enjoy sliding on these plaques.

RTO: 2 wheelers also missing!

• Contradictory data prevails

Richeek Mishra
Agra. Two-wheelers are the need of major section of the society. Since the last decade the two-wheeler craze has been increasing enormously. Hero Honda, Bajaj, TVS, LML and so many other companies launched their various dashing models to attract the customers. The scooters, bikes and moped captured the major segment of the market. Thousands of two-wheelers sold in the city every year. According to the dealers, Bajaj has sold around 21 thousand vehicles during January 2006 to August 2007. The Regional Transport Office (RTO) has registered only 19723 vehicles. The registration of four wheelers has been in lesser number than the number of their purchasing during this period due to high tax and levis but why the registration of two wheelers has been so is still to ponder over. RTO could not explain the reason of it. Similarly, Hero Honda has sold around 47,000 vehicles from January 2005 to till now while RTO has registered only 34,719 vehicles. Two wheelers manufactured by Hero Honda evoked good response for their mileage and performance due to which customers keen to purchase them. Around 12,281 vehicles of this company have not been registered in RTO. No body knows where these two-wheelers are missing. Yamaha Bikes has been sold around 4 thousand while there is 2954 entries in RTO register. Perhaps the haphazard data entry in RTO register does not bother the officers and other personnel of the department. There are so many contradictions in the data in every section of RTO. In this regard departmental sources said that there is the possibility of the two-wheelers being registered outside the state or district because Agra is a big city in its division. Customers from other districts purchase vehicles from Agra and register them in their districts. RTO can stop only big vehicles not these two-wheelers. RTO can generate more revenue if the state administration will change the policies and reduce the taxes and levis. The procedures of RTO will be simplified. Touts working behind the scene will be removed or administration will provide them franchise system for better working.

Geared sale of cars vs RTO registration

• High sale, low registration

Richeek Mishra
Agra. You can see lakh of wheels speeding on the roads and occasionly in a beautiful showrooms but you might not find them in the register of Regional Transport Office (RTO). The increasing number of vehicles occupy the city roads but RTO fails to register them properly.
The registration charges in the Uttar Pradesh are more than neighbouring states. RTO charges 2.5 percent as tax for petrol vehicles and 5 percent of diesel vehicles. Suppose if any one purchase petrol car worth 20 lakh, he has to pay 50 thousand as a tax in RTO. According to RTO around 10123 cars including small, premium and luxury are running in the city of Taj. Small cars rule the road of the city with score of 7774. Second position is occupied by premium class with 1356. Luxury cars (imported or assembled in India) are driven to the third position with a handful number of 19.
Customers of premium and luxury class range avoid paying taxes and levis in UP. Price range of such cars starts from Rs. 7 lakh onwards. They prefer neighbouring states for registration to save the tax money. According to the dealers Maruti Suzuki has sold around 8697 cars from 2005 till now while RTO has registered 6206 cars in this period. Similarly, Hyundai has sold 3559 cars in the same period and RTO has registered only 2586 cars. Brand wise, RTO has registered 88 Honda Civic and 37 Accord. In contrast the data differs company wise as RTO has registered 2 Civic and 5 Accord. Contradictory data of vehicles in the RTO is astonishing. The data is similar to all other premium and luxury class cars.
Talking to DLA am, dealers of various car brands said that the purchasing power of customer is increasing, because it is easy to afford small cars. Similarly, those who belongs to upper-middle class they can afford premium range cars easily. However they avoid registering their cars in the Uttar Pradesh as the taxes and levis are too high. For them registering the cars in neighbouring states is easy. They have to show their address proof, which is easily available there.
We have stopped providing temporary registrations, said RTO VK Sonakiya. Those who want to register their vehicles outside, they have to show the permanent address of the same state. It is true that taxes in neighbouring states are lower than UP, but we are unable to change the policies, added Sonakiya. Only administration and transport authorities can change the policies. Whatever may be, the main cause of avoiding the registration in the state is harsh policies and the levis fixed by state authorities. At local level we always try to resolve this problem and generate more and more revenue, he added.

Rural Agra: crying for medical facilities

• 15 blocks, 56 PHC, 360 beds, 2413497 population!
• 43098 person per PHC
• 6704 people per bed

Richeek Mishra

Agra. Rural Agra is neglected for high-quality health services besides administration's claim of providing better medical facilities in the district areas. The increasing number of patients have been a major problem for the health department. Medical practitioners and new medical graduates are quite unwilling to be deputed in rural areas. If they are trasferred from cities to remote areas they go from pillar to post to get it be cancelled. This has shattered the health system of the district. Agra district comprises 15 blocks having total population of 24,13,497, while the population of the entire district is 42,13,497. These 15 blocks covers major rural areas of the district, faces lack of medical services. According to the health department, there should be one Primary Health Centre (PHC) on 40,000 population informed Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hari Ram. There are 56 PHCs in 15 blocks of Agra along with 6 Allopathic Hospital/Dispensary. Calculating the total population of rural areas with total number of PHCs we get ratio of 43,098 persons per PHC. There are staff of 55 medical employees deputed at one PHC including doctors, nurses, pharmacist, sweepers, ANMs and others, added CMO. There are 360 beds in all PHCs in the entire rural Agra which shows the ratio of 6704 people on one bed. What would the health department do if any natural or man made calamity grip the district? Dr. Hari Ram said that we have send reports for establishing new health centres in many areas. As per the health department instructions there should be one New PHC (NPHC) on population of 80,000 and a Community Health Centre (CHC) on population more than 1 lakh. He further said that health department will establish some CHCs in those blocks whose population is more than a lakh.

City alcoholics guzzle 182.87 cr

• Around 2805 customers per shop
• 2 bottles per head annually worth Rs. 457
• 421 liquor shops in the city
  

Richeek Mishra
Agra. Since ancient times, Agraites have been high on alcohol consumption. It is considered a royal and an impressive method of celebrating special occasions. Love, politics and diplomacy- all need high spirits to be really effective! Hence, the sale of liquor. Liquor lovers think that this is the only way out of reducing stress and it has been proved by the consuming capability of the city.
The past few years have seen a dramatic change in the drinking habits of affluent Agarites, said District Excise Officer Harsh Chaudhary. There are many bars, permit rooms, shops and beer shops in the city to quench the thirst of locals. 68 bars, 105 Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) shops, 137 country liquor and 111 beer shops are present in the city, informed Chaudhary.
State Excise and Customs Department (SECD) has achieved Rs. 13.15 crore in the month of August and the revenue generated is at a growth rate of 104 percent. Our target was to achieve Rs. 12.66 crore in the month of August, said Chaudhary.
Similarly, SECD's annual target for this financial year is Rs. 182.87 crore. Till now we have achieved a target of Rs. 78.93 crore in the first five months with a growth rate of 43.2 percent. In the last fiscal, we achieved Rs. 73.67 crore in the same period with a growth rate of 34.8 percent. SECD scored growth rate of 8.4 percent in the month compared to last year.
In the last financial year, around 78 lakh litres of country liquor was sold in Agra while around 6 lakh bottles of IMFL were sold. SECD is also providing coupons worth Rs. 3000 for foreign liquor to customers for parties and celebration on a large scale but most of these coupons are taken by the hotels, bars, restaurants etc.

Inclination towards wine!
More and more city-dwellers are giving up their old hard liquor habits and switching to the softer wines. During the last few years the trend has accelerated, with wine consumption in Agra jumping 15 per cent annually, a rate that shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. One of the biggest factors is the social acceptability of women having a drink.
Until recently it was still a tiny subset of women who would drink openly, while today most college graduates think nothing of having a peg or two at a social occasion. Women are naturally attracted towards wine, which has the dual benefit of being more socially acceptable than hard liquor, and also more suitable to a woman's physiology.

Table
Shops Number
Bar 68
IMFL 105
Beer 111
Country liquor 137

Tale of Water Works (Jal Sansthan)

Richeek Mishra
Agra. The main source of potable water to the entire city is facing the problem of administrative negligence. There is lack of maintenance and renovation. Yes, we are talking about city's well known department-Agra Jal Sansthan (Water Works).
Local administration is not paying attention towards the maintenance of the Agra Jal Sansthan (Water Works). After looking into the entire department, DLA am found that the premises of the Water Works has been dumped with garbage, dry water treatment plants, open electric boards, stinking water outlets, eroded pumps etc.
The wire providing power supply from the OCB machine (440 volt) to the main pump was open and temporary covered with adhesive tapes which is fatal for the employees of the department. These connection points should be covered with a tin-cover or wooden box to avoid fatalities. This OCB machine supplies power to the main pump for distribution of potable water to the major of the city. There are two major pumps at two sides of the Water Works. The condition was the same in both the pumps. OCB machine at both the ends are in the same condition. The transformers base box is also hazardous.
There is a small outlet filled with stinking and polluted water, which is leaking in the fresh water supply, informed a employee of the department (on anonymity). Anyone can imagine that what type of fresh water is supplied in the city.
A section of Geomiller Rapid Filter Plant (GRFP) was defunct. Similarly, water treatment plant was also dry and the department is using it as a garbage dump. The pump and there valves are also eroded in the laboratory. The window panel of the buildings are broken. Bird droppings in the potable water supplied from the main supply pump. These birds enter the building through the broken window panel. The condition of the department makes mockery to the water supply system. It also tells the real story of the precaution taken by the Water Works. Despite several attempts officers could not be contacted to comment on the issue.

Waiting to be abandoned!

• UPSRTC will lose Rs. 18.25 cr annually

Richeek Mishra
Agra. After a long and controversial administrative procedure it was decided to shift the bus stand from Bijlighar to Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) Transport Nagar. Only one week is left for the final shifting of the bus stand. Now ISBT will be the hub for new markets, revenue generation, transporters etc. But what will be the future of Bijlighar bus stand?
The annual turnout of the nearby area of Bijlighar bus stand was about Rs.10-15 cr. The area comprises shops, restaurants, hotels, taxi stands and other business hubs which are lucrative businesses and also hot spots for passengers.
The decision of shifting bus stand from Bijlighar to ISBT is a big loss for Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport (UPSRTC), said State Transport (ST) Regional Manager RM Tiwari. There will be a loss of around Rs. 5 lakh per day after shifting the buses, he added. Passengers will face major problems as there ISBT is not well connected with the city. It is true that we were facing problems in transportation from Bijlighar because of narrow roads and encroachments at roadside but that was a big business center, informed Tiwari. We are not going to shift the workshop from Idgaah as it is a good source of earning. Major diesel pumps are present at Idgaah workshop and this forces ST to divert the buses to Idgaah for refuelling, said Tiwari. The proposed land for workshop near Transport Nagar is a disputed land. It can be bought only when the judicial decision has been taken, he added.
The city is expanding and major development work is being carried out in the outskirts, said Bijlighar bus-stand incharge Raj Kumar Srivastava. Every new project faces problems in its initial stage, he added. There is also a good opportunity for revenue generation from that place as big colonies are being developed there, said Srivastava.
We will face big losses after the shifting of this bus stand, said a sweetmeat shop owner Shyam Bhai Agarwal. The decision taken by the government is apathetic for businessmen present there.
It will affect our business tremendously because after travelling long distances passengers wanted some time to relax and now no passengers will be here after few days, said another shop and restaurant owner Manish Chauhan.
'The decision will not affect my business much as I have purchased a piece of land near ISBT for a shop.It remains to be seen how far this decision will be fruitful, said restaurant owner Ramesh Chandra Gupta. This decision will be a major setback for the small vendors and shop owners, he added.

ISBT is the new destination

Richeek Mishra
Agra. Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) officers denied shifting all the buses to Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) while administration is firm about its decision.
ADM city Rajeev Rautela has arrived at a final decision after surveying the entire premises of ISBT. He has resolved to remove encroachments from the nearby areas. UP Rajya Nirman Vibhag officials were called by ADM city to oversee the maintenance of the terminus.They have decided to start buses for Aligarh, Kanpur and Meerut immediately.
Earlier ST officials said that only few buses can shift from the Bijlighar bus stand. District Collector Mukesh Kumar Meshram has asked ADM city Rajeev Rautela to solve the problem. Rautela has inspected various bus stands thoroughly in the city.
During his inspection ADM City Rautela systematically examined the facilities at ISBT. He had a talk with the employees of ISBT and heard their problems out. During his conversation with ISBT officials, Rautela discussed about the various facilities available at the ISBT.
The revenue will be doubled if the ISBT starts functioning properly, said ISBT finance ARM Atul Shrotriya. At present, the total revenue earning from ISBT is around 1 lakh per month, he added. This revenue is generated from the bus stand tax and other levis.
ISBT assistant regional manager KK Singh said that this is a very good destination for the passengers from within the city and other places. At present, around 200 passengers board daily for various destinations. ISBT is situated on the outskirts of the city which is an inconvenient location for passengers, said Singh. Local administration should provide better public transport system to locals to reach this place. Around 200 buses arrive and depart from ISBT, he asserted.

Major decisions
After surveying the entire premises of ISBT, administration has decided to remove encroachments from nearby areas. UP Rajya Nirman Vibhag officials were called by ADM city to oversee the maintenance of the terminus.They have decided to start buses for Aligarh, Kanpur and Meerut immediately.

Facilities at ISBT
61 parking bases including 9 front parking bases. Spread of the entire terminus is 12.5 acre. Separate lavatories for men and women. Regular water and power supply. One generator room to provide power backup in emergency and load shedding. Twenty-three sodium lights, four high mass (comprising six lamps each), fans, tube lights etc. installed in the premises to brighten the terminus. Inquiry window, ticket window, canteen hall also there.

Facilities lacking
There is no one to run the canteen as it is yet to be allotted. Very few benches in the waiting hall. No rest room available. Lack of connectivity from city. Non-functioning phone booth.

Buses for various destinations
Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, MP and Chandigarh

City OnWheels

• 156 vehicles per kilometer

Richeek Mishra
Agra. Increasing population, growing real estate and expansion of city has resulted in an increase in the number of vehicles in Agra. Roads are packed with wheels. We can see more wheels than pedestrians on roads.
There is an abandoned look on roads after midnight which is again flooded with vehicles from 6.30 am onwards. The population of the district including outskirts and villages is around 35 lakh living in about 87,500 houses and running on 3500 km long mesh of roads.
According to Regional Transport Office (RTO), there are 5,43,019 registered vehicles on roads comprising commercial and non-commercial vehicles. There are 156 vehicles per kilometer running simultaneously on road.
Two-wheelers scored top rank in numbers. In city the two-wheelers comprising scooters, bikes and mopeds touched 4,36,216 while cars geared to second rank with 43,300. There are 29,992 tractors which shows the interest of Agraites in agriculture.
Not only this, in the category of commercial vehicles auto-rickshaws topped with 13,381 and goods carriers comprising 3-wheelers and light motor 4-wheelers has scored second position with 5277 and third position with 2864 respectively. This data shows the increasing business of goods carrier in the city. These RTO registered commercial and non-commercial vehicles are the life sources of business and mobility in Agra. Nevertheless, there is a possibility of unregistered vehicles in the city brought from other districts or states.

RTO's worry
Regional Transport Office (RTO) is worried about the decreasing number of registrations. It is worth noting that registration charges in UP are more than other states. Locals purchase their vehicles in the city and register them in nearby states to save money, said an RTO official. RTO has stopped providing temporary registration. This prohibition will put a brake on decreasing registrations, he asserted.

'Coupon Lao, Sehat Pao'

Richeek Mishra
Agra. This was first time in the city and the state, that health department has launched a new idea for welfare of women Below Poverty Line (BPL).
The Health Voucher Scheme (HVS) for reproductive health services was introduced on 14th March in the city. The project was started as a pilot project for seven rural blocks of Agra. Till now, this scheme has benefited over 3,500 women. These downtrodden women from rural areas have trouble getting two time meals a day, now, they get treatment at 10 renowned private hospitals of the city. These hospitals have been selected by the administration.
The HVS has been funded by USAIDS and executed by State Innovations in Family Planning Services Projects Agency (SIFPSA). 'Asha' female health activists identify women below poverty line who are given health vouchers. With the help of these vouchers they can consult gynaecologists and get pre and post-natal treatment, institutional delivery and various pathological tests free of cost.
The 10 private hospitals of Agra roped in, include Agra Hospital, Navdeep Hospital, Ram Raghu Hospital, Sarasvat Nursing Home, Kusum Gupta Nursing Home, Dr. K Tandon Nursing Hospital, Dr. Sen Nursing Home, Malhotra Nursing Home, SR Hospital and Asopa Hospital. Till now, around Rs 6 lakh has been spent on the project. In order to develop the confidence of the private sector, each selected hospital is provided with the advance payment of Rs 15,000.
"Around 80 per cent of deliveries are done at home in Agra (rural areas) and hardly any women in villages can think of pre or post-natal care. This voucher system empowers them to chose the service they want," said Dr. Parinita Bansal.
Three coupons were given to the pregnant lady which allows her to have its entire treatment free of cost at the recommended hospitals, she added. Gram Pradhan certifies the pregnant woman if she does not a BPL card holder, she asserted. At present maternal mortality and morbidity has been decreased, she added. From the beginning of the scheme I have done around 1200 deliveries under the same scheme, Bansal said.
SIFSA should start advance funding to the hospitals as they have to clear various dues. When our dues were not cleared at the time our enthusiasm will decrease, said a doctor on the condition of anonymity.

National Family Planning Survey III shows only 22 per cent of institutional deliveries take place in the state, of which 17 percent happen in rural areas. Less than 10 per cent women in rural areas receive post-natal care.

HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis-B check up kits will be provided to hospitals for patients and doctor also as they are maximally exposed to the pregnant woman. Administration should also provide these kits in the hospital for the check-ups of pregnant woman.

Story of beggars

• They choose & change their partners

Richeek Mishra

Agra. Like prostitution, begging is also one of the oldest professions all over the world. A person can adopt different styles of begging varying with geographical area and time. Rich countries like UK and US also have beggars, hence the profession is global and not limited to just poor countries. In Indian mythology, begging has been referred to as a highly respectable job of Sadhus, Rishis, and their disciples who needed supplies that were just enough for the bodily needs of their families, as they devoted their life to meditation and praying to god for well being of the world. But, now in the modern times when begging a full time profession, it is extremely difficult to even earn two meals. Modern beggars are always creating trouble for the local and foreign tourists in City. They can be found in huge numbers at every historical monument, crossings, hospitals, temples, etc. The beggar community feels that the society is selfish and discriminates on grounds of caste and religion due to which they are unable to make a living. A beggar at Hariparvat says that he tried to work but no body allowed us to and the government is also not giving us work. It is an old saying that bad habits die-hard, and ultimately it becomes an addiction. But again the question arises that why do those who are able enough to work and earn their living, choose to beg? Groups of beggars has have even formed their own tribes and name their offspring after their tribe.

Varieties of Begging

It is very difficult to generalize how and where begging begins. Some inherit it from their parents and some are forcefully brought into this dirt pool. Beggars will take anything viz. food or money while some demand specifically food or money. It has been observed that the elderly, the disabled, and the unemployed who do not have any support to live on, start begging. Sometimes people are robbed on a tour and they find themselves with no other option but beg temporarily to return home. There are others who try all sorts of tactics like carrying infants and pets and some even go as far as forcefully injuring the infants to get the passersby to sympathise with them and give them something. Some tell tales of like a pregnant woman crying over her dead child in the past, some want money to arrange for the funeral of their parents or their children and sometimes entire families are found begging on the pretext that they lost everything in a flood in a remote place.

Income

The beggars on the whole are well organized although not unionized. New beggars are looked upon with suspicion and are literally interviewed before being allowed to beg in any particular area. They have their own formula of estimating and budgeting income and expenses. A small town beggar faces a hard time to raise Rs. 50-100 while a city beggar can easily earn between Rs. 200-800. Part-timers earn Rs. 100-400 while full timers earn more than Rs. 500.

Nexus with criminals

Criminals and local mafia directly or indirectly tax (Hafta) these beggars, as told by a beggar. He said some young boys come to them every Saturday to collect the money after all they also need to save and also get to know of better begging zones. These leaders help us in saving our money and return it, when we demand, said Thaggu beggar at Sanjay Place. He further said that there is no rule to pay money to the leader. "Sometimes they leave us with our earning but it all depends on their mood". There are beggar gangs whose leaders take bigger shares, and distribute the rest among the members. The team of blind men and the team of eunuchs belong to this category. Thugs who run begging rackets usually dominate the beggars at the railway stations and bus stands. There are local mafia and criminals who liberate beggars from rehabilitation centers and send them back to the streets for begging.

Social & personal life

Beggars never make home. A sari is tied on two poles with the help of a bamboo stick and voila! there is a bedroom. Like western cultures, they have complete equality of genders and the women choose and change their partners whenever they like. Children are considered to be independent by the time they turn eight. From here on they choose to beg or steal. Professional thieves hire these beggar children as their apprentices. Even if they are caught, being minor they are sent to government remand homes or religious centers from where they are again picked up by the same fraternity. The beggar colonies are fast becoming the breeding grounds for anti-social elements.

Riot paralyses transportation in city

Richeek Mishra
Agra: Schools, offices, business centres, malls, shops and other private offices were closed since Wednesday. The entire city was horrified by this unexpected incident. Police, medical services, non-government organisations, media and administration were on their toes to maintain peace in the city.
A major part of the city was seized. Traffic police has blocked major entry points of the city. All the steps taken to bring calm in the city were partially failed, as many office goers and patients were forced to strand at various places.
'I was stranded today near Dhakran', said Agra college student Satish Sahani. He further said that he is the resident of Sikandara. I walked around 4 km and then I got an auto rickshaw for my home, added Satish. Yesterday incident was unfortunate, which should not be repeated, he asserted.
Today my pregnant wife and me were faced lots of problem in hiring any transport from the SN Medical College, said Vinay Ahuja. We were stranded there up to 5pm, he added. After trying a lot I was able to get a rickshaw to get out of that place.
I could not earn a single penny since Wednesday as the entire area was seized, said an auto rickshaw owner Brijendra Nath Sahu. Yesterday, some of the rioters have also tried to damage my vehicle but somehow I could manage to flee from that area, he added.
State Transport (ST) buses were allowed to depart for Rajasthan except Bharatpur, while buses from various districts in UP including Delhi were arriving and departed from the city bus stands, said Idgaah bus station manager Mohmmad Safi. ST was partially affected from the riots, as we cannot allow the buses to enter in the city yesterday, he added.
Box: Auto rickshaw drivers have increased the fares since Wednesday. The fares have been increased twice of the fixed charges. Unavailability of vehicles on the road panicked regular commuters. Police has prohibited entrance of vehicles in the riot-affected areas.

Riot & curfew brings huge loss to RTO

Richeek Mishra
Agra: Registration of vehicles, license and number distribution, fitness check up and collection of taxes have been affected at the Regional Transport Office (RTO) Agra due to riots.
RTO has a revenue loss of around Rs.16 lakh on August 29. The riot has also stopped routine procedures at RTO. We are expecting the total loss of around Rs. 45 lakh during these three days, said Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) Surendra Kumar. The department could not cover this entire loss in next few weeks, he added.
Due to riot and curfew put in six police station areas has totally paralysed our daily work, said ARTO. We were unable to carryout daily office work, as our half of the staff was absent at the day, he added. Our women employees faced lots of problem while they pass through the riot-affected areas.
Besides, few of our employees coming late in the office due to curfew, RTO is running smoothly, Surendra asserted. Public will maintain peace and harmony, ARTO expressed hope.

Festival doesn't, money matters

Richeek Mishra
Agra: One can notice closed shops, government offices, tight packed box offices on the occasion of 'Rakhi'. When the entire city is celebrating the festival, the public transportation fare have drastically increased.
Auto rickshaw drivers demanded just double of fixed fares. Wherever you go, you have to pay double amount of the fare. From Trans Yamuna Colony to Ram Bagh, Ram Bagh to Bhagwan Talkies, Sikandara, Sadar, Delhi Gate or anywhere else you go you have to give double charges.
We cannot celebrate festival, we have to drive daily to arrange livelihood for our family, said an auto rickshaw driver Radheyshyam. He further said there is no harm if the charges have been doubled for a single day, as other commodities rates were increased.
Similarly, another rickshaw driver Sunil at Khandari said that I have to give some valuables to my sister and for that I am charging little bit more than the fixed charges. He further said that we have to pay some extra money to the police and others on the festivals as they also partake our earning.
This is very unfortunate and painful that these auto rickshaw drivers has increased their charges on the festivals, which should be stopped by the administration, said a senior citizen Shashikant Gupta going to daughter's house.
These drivers must be jailed and slapped publicly said Rohini Singh in anger. They are charging according to their whims. It should be restricted Rohini added. She was waiting for auto at Khandari to visit her brother's house at Delhi Gate.
We faced lots of problem on Monday night as the charges are tripled on the eve of 'Rakhi' said Shipra a college student. Some of the auto-rickshaw drivers are not allowing passengers to travel for short distances she added.

New Arrivals for city sexoholics

Richeek Mishra
Agra: Smoking and writing are most popular social activities from bygone era. From rickshaw puller to literature laureate, industrialist, socialite and so on normally smokes. This is also known as a status-uplifting factor.
Now, for sexoholic smokers and pen lovers there is joyous news as city is flooded with pornographic image projection cigarette lighters and pen. There demand has been increasing day by day in high profile class after luring the students, lower medium class etc.
According to a shop owner (on anonymity) near Sur Sadan Square said that earlier these lighters and pens were imported from Nepal, China and neighbouring countries. Now, these are manufactured at every major city in India, shop owner added.
Earlier, there are pornographic diaries, playing cards, purse, toy camera and other products available in the market but these two have rocked the city said a footpath vendor at Raja Mandi. He further said that these are known as blue pens and lighters. Various varieties available in the market to fulfill the demand of sexoholic, he added.
A major gift store near Loha Mandi also stores these types of products. We have to store these materials considering the huge demand in the market, show owner said.
A student Raju (name changed) from affluent college of the city and hostelier at New Agra said that there is nothing to feel ashamed and these materials are just for a enjoyment. One can purchase these products as they range from Rs.10 to Rs.50. Many friends of mine have purchased the lighters and pen, he added.
Inventors of lighter and pen Johann Wolfgang Dobreiner and Lewis Waterman have never thought of new avatars of their invention.

How these projection lighters work?

These projectors were made up of three major components lens, battery and transparent film of image. Firstly, the battery and lens was installed inside the body of pen or lighter followed by installation of film in front of lens. Image is projected on the focused point when light beam passes through the film.

Rs 7.33 lakh for 51 electric units

• Two separate sub-divisions issued bills of different amount of same connection
• DVVNL officials agree with duplicity in bills
• Blame game persists between Franchise Company and DVVNL officials
  
  
  Richeek Mishra
  Agra. If you are served two electricity bills, one to the tune of Rs 7.33 lakh and another a paltry Rs 855, with an option to pay at your own discretion, what could be better than this?
  A franchise company authorised by Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (DVVNL) mysteriously issued two different bills to a same domestic connection at Old Idgah.
  The connection used to 'Show' bills in three figures but owing to some confusion between two sub-divisions, the colossal difference came to light.
  The story begins with a bill of connection number-163049, meter no-ZI6380 and book number-3102 was issued on November 30, 2007. This connection number comes under division VII, sub-division III. The amount of bill was Rs. 855 with meter reading 47410. The customer of this connection number (Kaushalya Wasan, 18-B, Old Idgah Colony) deposited the bill of Rs 855 at sub-division III billing center. According to the DVVNL officials this is the original bill and the customer has paid it.
  Other face of the coin, DVVNL's Barak road office (sub-division II) also issued a bill to the same customer of the same month. The meter and connection number is same. The meter reading was not mentioned in this bill. But the amount is shocking Rs. 645046. In this bill Surname of the consumer was slightly changed (Kaushalya Walan, 18-B, Old Idgaah) with a different book number (2106).
  Moreover, Sub-division II also issued a bill on December 31, 2007 with an astonishing amount of Rs. 733709. While the meter reading was 471461. The difference of meter reading between November and December is 51 units and for this 51 units the consumer was billed more than Rs 7 lakh by the officials of DVVNL.
  When contacted to get detailed information about the bills DVVNL officials and Franchise Company employees started blame game.
  DVVNL official JP Verma immediately discussed the issue with the SDO of sub-division II, Manoj Pathak. Pathak assured Verma to investigate into the matter. Talking to DLA am, Pathak said that the franchise company might have committed the mistake.
  Further, talking to DLA am, SDO of sub-division III AK Mathur said that after the bifurcation of the divisions the book number of the connection changed and this is the reason behind duplicity of bills. Now, I will write a letter to sub-divison II to remove the entry of this connection number from their book, he added.
  On the other hand officials of the franchise company said, we are only authorised to issue bills and our employees working on both the sub-divisions will come to know about the duplicity in bills only after they are informed by the DVVNL officials. We cannot change the bills. Only executive engineer or SDO can change the bills, they said.